WASHINGTON (August 15, 2022) –Today the FFAR Fellows Program, established by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and NC State University, announced the 2022 cohort, which includes 28 fellows. The FFAR Fellowship is a unique three-year professional development training and mentorship program for doctoral students studying food and agriculture sciences.
Early career scientists often have limited opportunities to engage with industry and government leaders or develop soft skills critical to creating impact. To fill this gap, FFAR and North Carolina State University created the FFAR Fellows Program in 2018 to provide professional development for the next generation of food and agriculture scientists. The FFAR Fellows Program fosters interpersonal skills, communications, public speaking and project and team management, that are essential to workplace success and often not offered in an academic setting. The Fellows are also paired with industry mentors for additional career guidance. Ultimately, the Fellowship cultivates supportive relationships between graduate students and industry, government and nonprofit stakeholders to equip students with the skills needed to facilitate their transition to the workforce.
Last year, FFAR and North Carolina State University renamed the FFAR Fellows Program in honor of FFAR’s now retired executive director emeritus Dr. Sally Rockey and her commitment to supporting young scientists. FFAR also established the Rockey FFAR Fellows Fund to make the program’s professional development opportunities more accessible to all participants.